A Sleeping Prince
by Midoriri
Summary: Claire saw him, sleeping beneath the shade of a tree. And he was soaking wet. Clairex?


She stared at him, eyes wide in astonishment. _Wow...that's different..._

What exactly Claire was staring at was the young man lying in the tree's shade, flat on his back, his hands folded over his chest. And he was soaking wet.

Claire glanced over, seeing the Harvest Goddess Spring. If he was soaked, then he had to have been in there. _But why...? _She looked back. _And he's certainly in no position to tell me._

She smiled to herself as she thought about the various reasons he could've gone into the water. He could've been swimming, maybe, but it didn't seem likely. It seemed...taboo to swim in the Goddess's Spring. Nobody ever said anything about it, after all, she had fished in it from time to to time, and no bolts of lightning had ever struck her, but swimming was another matter entirely. _Maybe _that_ would get you a lightning bolt...Nah, _she quickly decided, with a shake of her head. _The Harvest Goddess isn't mean like that..._

_Or he could've slipped. _ Claire laughed out loud at that one. She could just _see _it. Maybe he would've fallen in in some humorous attempt at fishing. Or maybe throwing in an offering and forgetting to let go. That image made her laugh even harder, so much so that she was in danger of waking the slumbering young man.

Claire covered her mouth with both hands in an attempt to hold in the laughter, and sank to her knees. _Okay...okay...calm down, calm down...it's not _that_ funny. Oh, who am I kidding, yes it is! _And she went into another giggle-fit.

Beneath the tree, his brow furrowed, and he swallowed in his sleep. But then the disturbed look passed, and he looked as calm and peaceful as ever.

Claire regained control of herself. _Okay, then...better leave. _But as she looked at him, even dripping wet, the more he looked...

_Kinda like a male Sleeping Beauty._

The farmer blushed hot pink and she clapped her hands over her cheeks, feeling the heat emanating from them. _Whe-Where did _that_ come from?!_

But it was almost true... His face looked so peaceful, and his head was slightly tilted to the side, as if he _had _been asleep for a hundred years. And his hands, folded over his chest like someone in their coffin (as morbid as that sounded) was reminiscent of the same princess...and Snow White as well. _Add the water, and he could be a sleeping mer-prince...Yeah, a mer-prince who washed up on the beach, and turned human! Without realizing it, he slept on, unaware of the beautiful princess nearby, what-?! _Claire blushed again, redder this time. Nevermind the "sleeping prince" notion, where'd _that one_ come from?!

Claire shook her head side to side in an attempt to snap herself out of those weird thoughts. _I need to stop watching Disney movies and reading fairytales..._

But still...

She swallowed and crawled closer to him, until she too was under the shade. The sudden coolness sent shivers down her spine; how could he be so wet and under the cool shade, yet not be sick? Experimentally, she reached out with an index finger to poke his cheek. He twitched as the soft flesh yielded under her finger, but other than that, there was no reaction. Claire chuckled. His skin felt pretty cool, but not _bad..._ How long had he been under the shade anyway?

Now she was on her stomach, her chin resting on her hands. A small smile formed on her lips as she watched him sleep. She didn't know why he was so fascinating, but he was. Grinning wider, she reached out to pluck a flower from the ground and dangle it above his face until the blossom touched the tip of his nose. His nose twitched and mouth twisted for a moment, but it passed as she removed the flower and set it somewhere safe. _Heh...that makes it even cuter! _

Claire swallowed as the blush rose in her cheeks. A sleeping prince...and a girl nearby.

_Once upon a time there was a prince cursed to fall into a deep sleep. He slept for so long that his heart had stopped long ago and he almost didn't breathe. But a fair damsel saw him sleeping there and decided that he'd been slumbering long enough. So she summoned all her courage and-_

Claire jumped back, hands on her mouth, eyes wide at what she'd just done. She-She had just been telling a little story in her head and the next thing she knew-

She had leaned forward, moving upwards to gently brush a kiss against his lips.

_Oh, Goddess..._she thought, face red as a tomato. She watched him, waiting for him to awaken and chew her out for doing what she'd just done...

But nothing happened.

Claire lowered her hands slowly, and continued to stare. Nothing. It was as if she'd never been there.

_Now would be a great time to leave..._ Claire thought as she hurried, still blushing, back toward her farm. She just hoped she wouldn't _still_ be tomato-red when she saw him next...

**-oOo-**

He slowly opened his eyes, licking his lips. Hm. Something tasted like strawberry lip-gloss.

_Once upon a time, there was a man who fell asleep beneath a flowering tree. He had fallen in the Harvest Goddess Spring and laid in the sun to warm up, but had gotten sleepy. He then crawled under the shade of the tree so he wouldn't sunburn. _

_And when he woke up, he saw a fair young maiden staring and smiling at him, giggling over how silly he must've looked._

What the-?! Where'd he get _that?_

He glanced down at his hands. "And why is there a flower in my hands?"


End file.
